Understanding the
Frozen Category From a
Consumer Perspective
Waves
24th April 2014
Agenda
What is ‘Frozen’ to consumers:
 In home
 Packaging
 In store
 Overview of challenges and barriers
Key issues for category sub-segments
Conclusions
Research Objectives:
‘To understand underlying shopper and consumer
dynamics driving the performance of the frozen
food category (both at total category level and at
key sub category level: frozen meat/burgers;
chicken products; pizza; ready meals; fish;
vegetables) in UK and Ireland so as to inform
future marketing and consumer strategies’
3
Online discussion forum:
 33 consumers over 5 days (21 UK
and 12 Ireland)
 Including: Supermarket visit where
they took photos of the aisle and
any interesting frozen products
In home interviews:
 30 consumers London /
M25 (7), Manchester
(7), Nottingham (6),
Cork (3) and Dublin (7)
Accompanied shops:
 With 20 of the above, ranging
from ‘top up’ to ‘stock up’ visits
In Home Perspective
What is frozen?
Anything entering the consumer's
freezer is part of frozen:
 Est at least half is not bought frozen
So anchored in ‘my freezer’
Core benefit of convenience belongs to
the device not the category
Convenience:
Choice /
Options
Poor aesthetics:
Just doesn’t look
as nice (as fresh)
Perceived poorer
quality (than fresh)
Very functional and
lacks emotional appeal




Easy /quick meal
Snacks to keep you going
Meal / Menu tailoring
Freezer plays a role on most days
Less waste:
 Lasts longer
 Precise amounts
Can be a guilty pleasure
Consumer creates unique
category, ‘my frozen’
Whatever is in my freezer:
 Yes, ‘bought frozen’
 Probably more bought fresh
 Bakery is key, fuelled by offers and
minimising waste
 Others eg pastry
And for some more portions & leftovers
Consumer overview of products from their freezer
Issue
Veg
Fish Prods
Pizzas
Poultry
Prods
Meat /
Burgers
Ready Meals
Who is
core user?
Adults
Children &
Adults
All +
Guests
Children
Adults
Teens & Adults
Usefulness
*****
***
*****
***
****
Confidence
in product
*****
****
*****
***
**
*
Kids love them
and teenagers
can cook them
(if bought
frozen)
**
****
(if bought
fresh)
Role of
brands
Whether
bought
frozen?
Key:
Key:
Key:
Birds Eye,
McCains,
Green Isle
Birds Eye,
Donegal
Catch,
Youngs
Goodfellas
Dr Oetker
Chicago
Pizza Express
All
All
Most
(not Pizza
Express ‘treats’)
Limited:
(Big Als)
All
Critical
but
minimal:
Own label
popular:
(Birds Eye,
Finest)
+ Weight
Watchers, Healthy
Living and some
non frozen brands
entering
Minority
Most
(offers in
fresh key)
Meat the key component of
buy fresh and freeze:
Almost all consumers did this, using up
valuable space
And all think they do it more now:
 Due to offers (eg 3 for £10)
 Innovation in jar / packet sauces
Local butchers / meat shops doing
deals too
A behaviour given impetus by
horsemeat scandal
Important everywhere,
even more in Ireland
The casual ‘snacks and
light meals’ category
Articulated repeatedly by consumers
and defined by usage (not product):
 Snacks and ‘in between meal’ meals
 Fish finger buttie, nuggets to keep the kids
going after school, etc
Very casual and extremely valuable
Not reflected in store
Opportunity exists here
Case Study: Single D, Stretford
Karen has a busy life and wants lots of
instant food available; quite erratic
lifestyle as working and caring for
father. Heavy Iceland & Asda shopper
(but uses several other stores too)
12
Case Study: Family with two young children under 10, D
Maria has a very strict weekly budget and a heavy user of frozen; but
husband thinks fresher is better and they buy a lot of fresh meat to
freeze on offer (at Tesco). Limited repertoire of meals (lots of fresh
mince that is frozen); spag bol several times a week with sauces
“everything comes out of a jar or packet in this family”
13
Case Study: Family with older teens
Claire is a lighter (almost heavy) frozen food user but
says she ‘works her freezer hard’. She has teenage
children and several in their 20’s who regularly return
with partners in tow. She need lots of food options to
cater for a wide range of tastes and fads; and people
just turning up. ‘Discovered’ Aldi last year and goes
every Sunday for main shop.
14
Freezers: Out of sight
Freezers are squeezed into the home
 Very few have them in the garage
Storage space; the frozen cupboard
Involves rummaging about
Product ‘shoved in’
Hard to manage
Freezers appear chaotic
And at times, uncared for
and almost unusable
And with mystery
products……
Manchester:
In comparison
fridges are
much neater
Nottingham:
Consider this example:C2, older
family with 4 children in Cork
Packaging Issues
Packaging Challenges
Reaction to packaging re-enforces
poor perceptions of the category
 Uncared for product
Packs take up too much space, esp
when part used (eg 4 of 8 pieces left)
Many repackage:
 Positive: reduce waste; enhance convenience
 Negative: because pack won’t fit in
Packaging at odds with needs:
With freezer space at a premium, offers
(which promote more, not cheaper) can
appear at odds with consumer needs
 Discounters viewed more favourably;
usually a better price for the same size
If original packaging doesn’t fit, some
keep instructions (and some do not)
Squashed and
damaged
Packaging gets
ripped open – and
cannot be resealed
 Frequently packaging does not
help freezer management
 Difficult to open, impossible to
reseal
 Exposed product commonplace
Many examples of loose product
23
In Store Perspective
Frozen Aisle:
Usual rules don’t apply
Looks uninviting
Very functional, unemotional
Not tactile; no permission or
encouragement to explore and handle
Perceived lack of POS / offers
At the end ‘I just want to get home’
 Be quick or even avoid altogether
Clinical and uninviting environments, esp Tesco
Macclesfield
These cabinets look empty
due to light reflection;
Asda, Cheshire
Dublin Clarehall
Poorly stocked Sainsburys
in Kings Lynn
26
Discounters and some
others integrate freezers
better:
-No frozen aisle
-Creates more welcoming
category environment
Lidl, Artane
Supervalu,
Kilester
Lidl, Fishponds, Bristol
Tesco, Barking
Side ‘flags’ used here to
indicate frozen aisle by price
point thought more colourful
 Open freezers more inviting:
 Doors seen as a barrier to
product; “I only open them if
I want something.”
Asda, Feltham
Offers grab attention and bring colour;
suggest retailer is making an effort
Lidl
Iceland
Tesco
Morrisons
Role of Offer Freezers
Mentioned spontaneously
Recognised as mixing things up
 Meal ideas; covering all the bases
Many like them but ‘a bit weird’
 Healthy Living curry next to pizza
Debate as to whether they encourage
you visit the aisle or help you avoid it
Jumbled up offer freezers
These examples Tesco Macclesfield and Tesco Dublin Artane Cross
Ben & Jerrys and Faggots;
Tesco Macclesfield
The Crunchie dividing wall;
Tesco Artane Cross, Dublin
31
Implications of store
experience
Rarely lingering in the frozen aisle
 Typically ‘get in get out’
 New strategies needed
Frequent opportunities for purchase
avoidance, eg:
 Someone stood in the way of cabinet
 Uncertain whether pack will fit in my freezer
Innovation not being noticed
The Wider Perspective:
Issues impacting frozen
Wider food-retail issues
impact frozen:
Much less ‘stock up’ shopping:
 Stores are everywhere
 22 of 33 say now going more
frequently
Growth of discounters
 Easier frozen experience
 19 of 33 using them a lot more
 So easy, part of convenience
Convenience stores living up to name
 No longer for distress purchasing
 They have offers too (inc fresh)
 Frozen very limited
The frozen aisle;
Tesco Metro, Cheadle
Hulme, Manchester
Frozen not living up to potential
Category specific issues:
Broader factors:
Language of chilled superior
Freezer enables fresh
Packaging needs improving
Improve shopabaility
Awareness of innovation needed
Less stock-up shopping
Growth of discounters
Convenience living up to name
Cooking in media rarely
features frozen
Combine to inhibit category positives:
 Convenience
 Less waste
 Better value
Consumer review
of frozen category
sub-segments
Category Perceptions
Important to get beyond the initial
frozen category reaction
Superficial perceptions not strong:
 Poorer nutrition
 Cheap (and nasty)
But attitudes differ by sub-segment
Frozen Vegetables:
The most positive segment; can be better
than fresh
Peas the benchmark
 Carrots less so (soggy)
 Mixed and other greens appreciated
Pack size a key issue; can be
compounded by offers
Innovation seen positively and is about:
 Pack sizes (eg Single Steamers)
 Sauces (eg cauliflower cheese)
 Items that help me cook from
scratch (eg stir fry & casserole
products, herbs)
Frozen ‘Potato’ Products:
To consumers separate to vegetables
and part of ‘snacking’
 Includes Yorkshires
No quality concerns and better than I
could make (esp chips, Yorkshires)
An invaluable category
 Quick ‘cheat’ food
 Options for families
Innovation largely seen as about potato
formats (eg baked potatoes)
Frozen Pizzas:
Popular and performs well
Many prefer frozen over fresh
Convenient and easy; good to have in
for the unexpected
Innovation, flavours and bread formats,
viewed very positively
Merchandising dull if displayed side on
but very positive if viewed from ‘above’
(this example Dunnes)
Frozen Fish Products:
Easier and family-friendly way to access
fish
A positive relationship with frozen;
(some know it is frozen when caught)
 Attitudes to frozen quite different to
fresh; breaded an important association
(but less than for poultry)
Concerns over quality (mushy / grey)
and portion size
Fish product innovation:
Consumer sees three types
To address perceived poor quality (eg
Iceland)
Coatings; but more of the same!
 ‘Real’ innovation eg sauces, clear
packaging, etc
Frozen Poultry Products:
Majority eating chicken but relatively
poor attitudes to frozen poultry products
given extent of fresh purchase
 Concerns over meat quality /
reconstituted / injected
Perceptions anchored in breaded
 ‘Childish’ driven by nuggets and
goujons
 ‘Outdated’ Chicken Kiev been
around for ages
Lacks adult brands; though Big Als very
popular in Ireland
Poultry Innovation Poor:
Innovation very limited and only seen
at the value end (eg mimicking KFC,
joint alternatives)
Consumers found it difficult to find
‘interesting’ products from this segment
Quality cues missing from frozen
 Free Range, freedom food,
organic, etc
Consumer sees greater innovation in
fresh (prepared chicken, DIY coating,
etc)
“To be honest there is only so much you can do with a piece of
chicken and some breadcrumbs. I’ve noticed a trend to try and
imitate the traditional Saturday night takeaway. For example, KFC
do a chicken bucket for approx £12 and this can be bought in
Iceland for £5.” (C2, heavy, pre-family)
Frozen Meat / Meat Products:
Meat being used by many
 Esp bags of chops
 Chicken / Mince less prevalent
Good value but fresh offers eroding;
and can be too cheap
Awareness of quality issues: Looking at
water, meat and fat content
Horsemeat had greatest impact here
Meat products (sausages, pies &
pasties) thought poor and fresh better
Very little innovation recognised:
 Greggs pasties an exception
 Occasional cooking enablers
 And meat substitutes
Burgers:
Many negative perceptions
Lack of trust evident
A unique situation; very seasonal &
greatest quality concerns
Fresh burgers seem readily available
and easier to judge quality
Some claim to make their own
“Fresh offer the image that
they have been prepared
before your eyes, unlike
frozen burgers where there
is uncertainty surrounding
the processes!”
(C2, heavy, pre family)
“I think what happens is that now I don't
trust any burgers and just because a
thing is cheap I still have the right to
know what is in them as it is my choice
what I give my family to eat and if there
horse meat in my burgers I should be
told this on the package no matter what I
pay for them.”
(D, heavy, older family)
Frozen Ready Meals:
When explored consumers found many
‘interesting’ products
 Several commented that this
surprised them
Consumer needs to be engaged in a
conversation to get past more negative
initial reactions:
 Impossible to judge quality
 Concerns over additives, fat & salt
 Portions are shrinking
 A guilty pleasure
Convenience is key and teenagers an
important user group
Innovation Surprising:
Consumer needs permission to explore
Several positive aspects to innovation:
 Tasty and adventurous flavours
 Brands starting to matter (eg Bisto,
Sharwoods and more established
Weight Watchers, Healthy Living)
 Colourful
But innovation lacks consumer visibility
and little experimentation was reported
Consumer Overview of Frozen Category Sub-segments
Issue
Veg
Fish Prods
Pizzas
Poultry
Prods
Meat /
Burgers
Ready Meals
*****
***
****
***
*
***
Frozen at
source a
positive
Makes fish
accessible
Sooo
useful
Peas &
chips
Fish fingers
Perceived
quality
The best
way to buy
some
Poor,
shrinking
portions
(some think
better than
chilled)
Perceived
innovation
Acceptable
n/a
Overall rating
of frozen
segment
Key issues
Iconic product
Buying more
frozen
nowadays?
Juvenile Can’t judge
meat
quality
Concern over
ingredients
The Pizza
itself
Nuggets
& Kiev
None
Curry, Chilli,
Lasagne, Spag
Bog
Good
Poor
Concern
Variable, being
Improving
Good
Poor;
needed
Little scope
Quite good
More
Much
more
More
Less
lifted by brands
(inc Healthy
Living)
(even better
when explored)
Some more /
Some 49
less
Conclusions and
suggested actions
Conclusions and Actions
In Store
(Shopability)
Products
(Communication
and Innovation)
Consumers (Empathy)
Consumers: Empathy
Only one key element of what’s in my freezer
Competing with fresh
Recognise role of snacking, light meals and home cooked
 Communicate and innovate around these situations
Products: Communication & Innovation
Dial up quality and taste cues; borrow from fresh (esp poultry)
Packaging innovation to improve convenience
Fish products: Maintain innovation momentum (not there yet)
Poultry: Innovation needed (lacking) and communicate cues of fresh
Meat & meat products: Reassurance communication needed
Ready Meals: awareness / engagement needed (innovation is ahead
of knowledge)
In Store: Shopability
Re-evaluate visual, verbal and spatial cues
Tap into ‘get in get out’ mind-set
Consider:
 Fragmentation of category to encourage involvement
 Products based on usage not ingredients
Appendix:
Frozen in respondents
own words…..
The language of frozen food
What is frozen food all about……..?
“quick and tasty and generally
suited to reheating in a
microwave” (C2, lighter, post family)
“Frozen food is convenience
food, you know it won’t go off
and it’s readily available to use”
(C2, heavy, young family)
“buying a product what you don’t know
when you will eat it, but then it’s easy
enough to cook in the microwave”
(D, heavy, post family)
“It’s the handiest thing to have in the
freezer, once I have them there’s
always a dinner there. So handy
especially when you’re a working
mam” (C2, heavy, young family)
“Frozen food cuts down on
waste, I got sick of throwing out
veg that had turned” (C2, lighter,
“i tend to sway towards fresh as much as
possible, you think it’s better for you” (C2,
young family)
lighter, older family)
“Quick and easy to cook and most
people like it” (C2, heavy, older family)
“It’s ready fast after a long day at
work” (C2, heavy, older family)
The language of frozen food
What product best sums up frozen food and why?
“ready meals - they are helpful
when I don’t have time to make
a proper meal” (D, heavy, post family)
“.......the obligatory fish fingers
and chicken nuggets for the
grandchildren” (C2, lighter, post family)
“frozen chicken – because I can do
a curry or stir fry – something
quick with it” (C2, lighter, older family)
“The bulk buy start-type
meals...the type of thing you can
just shove in the oven and snack
on whilst cooking or before going
on a night out” (C2, heavy, pre family)
“I have a lot of frozen chicken
and beef as it is really convenient
to be able to cook staples after
work” (C2, lighter, pre family)
“I think mixed veg sums up frozen food for me, they
are so handy to have and once added to any dish
they complete the meal” (C2, heavy, post family)
Shopability of frozen in respondents own words…..
“Cold is the first word I’d use, it’s my least favourite aisle and I usually
grab and run when I go down this section!!” (C2, lighter, older family)
“Cold! Boring, not inspiring, plain,
lots of deals and offers on show”
(C2, lighter, pre family)
“Yes there are a lot of deals in
the frozen aisles but there are
more meal deals in the fresh
aisles!” (C2, heavy, young family)
“I find it easy to go through the shop
without looking at freezers if I don't
need items as they’re not at my eye
level and there not jumping out at me.
recently Lidl have started to do special
offers freezers.” (C2, heavy, post family)
“I would never open (freezer) doors
unless I’m going to buy it. …..With door
you have to decide you want it” (C2, Post
family, Heavy)
Macro trends: In respondents own words….
“Asda, once or twice. Tesco Metro
three to five times. Sainsburys and
Waitrose once. Farmfoods once.”
(D, heavy, post family)
“It’s so easy to cook from
scratch now – there’s help
everywhere and we’re always
discussing recipes at work.”
(C2, lighter, older family)
“We shop around a lot and look out
for good deals. I do a main shop once
a month in either Aldi or Tesco and
we use our local Asda for top up
shopping. That usually happens
about 3 times a week so I can get
fresh produce.” (C2, heavy, young family)
“My husband and I are both self employed and I
suppose that although we manage to pay all our
bills, we are conscious about getting value for
money. When I did a weekly shop, I wasted a lot of
food by just throwing it out and I was more
inclined to buy a lot of rubbish (cakes, biscuits). I
find that shopping everyday you are more inclined
to buy what you need and probably have fresher
products as well.” (C2, heavy, young family)
“I find these stores are better value for money, I can do a
full shop at Aldi for half the price of Tesco... I wouldn’t
dream of going to Tesco now.” (D, heavy, young family)
Fish Products: In respondents own words….
“I would like to see the amount of ice glaze on prawns reduced as you
are just paying for water. Also scampi – make it clear whether it’s
reformed or whole tail. Some brands do make this clear. I don’t like over
regular shape of fish fillets as it suggests that it’s more like processed
rubbish, I’d like less and compact packaging” (C2, lighter, older family)
“I think it's easy to feel a bit cheated
…... You see some nicely packaged
fish fillets with a tasty image on the
front with big succulent fillets and
then you open to see tiny grey-ish
fillets. That can be a bit
disappointing!” (D, lighter, pre-family)
“Some products needs more fish in
relation to the amount of batter, on
the other hand Tesco own fish
products need to be bigger in size ,
there is a good amount of fish to
batter but the product needs to be
bigger.” (C2, lighter, young family)
“Totally agree about the ratio of batter/breadcrumbs to fish. I don't buy
any coated fish now (other than fish fingers - can't beat a fish finger butty)
However, probably would if they could get it right.” (C2, lighter, post family)
Poultry Products: In respondents own words….
“The Birdseye chicken range has
newer products ie: chicken chargrills
in different flavours, peri peri, garlic,
southern fried and I have seen a new
chicken burger which is much thicker
and more meaty than the usual
chicken burger.” (D, heavy, older family)
“Tenders, goujons, dippers, nuggets,
fingers, popcorn, strips (whether they
are breaded or southern fried) I just
don’t know how many more names they
can come up with to mask chicken. Ok
they may be different shapes but at the
end of the day they 99% taste the
same.” (C2, heavy, pre family)
“I believe that chicken Kiev, chicken dippers, nuggets, chicken breast etc have
been around for a number of years and that the only difference that I can see
would be the packaging. An example of this would be Birds Eye Chicken Breasts
in crumb/batter. I realize that there are a lot more than I've mentioned but I haven't
seen much change over the last few years.” (C2, heavy, young family)
“To be honest there is only so much you can do with a piece of chicken
and some breadcrumbs. I’ve noticed a trend of the supermarket to try and
imitate the traditional Saturday night takeaway. For example, KFC do a
chicken bucket for approx £12 and this can be bought in Iceland for £5.”
(C2, heavy, pre-family)
Ready Meals: In respondents own words
“I'm very conscious about my diet. I wont eat frozen ready meals so
I just don't go there and tempt myself with the idea of eating a roast
in 10 minutes. They're usually pretty low in nutritional value and
flavour despite having flavour enhancers” (D, lighter, pre family)
“I think you can easily buy fresh meat
and there are so many fresh / jars /
packets of sauces that easily make a
good meal without the need to buy
ready meals.” (C2, heavy, young family)
“If you’re on the go…from time to time but
its not something you want to be eating 5
days a week.” (C2, lighter, Pre-Family)
“Chicken in red wine sauce
sounds delicious. I will look
out for that next time I am
shopping.” (C2, lighter, older family)
“I saw the Bisto cottage pie in Lidl
..it was on offer and looked nice so
I bought one for my husband to
try.” (C2, heavy, post family)